The Bellfield Centre in Stirling, a purpose-built facility for older adults’ rehabilitation, has been the focus of a collaborative arts project.
As part of this initiative, eight park benches from a former care home were redesigned with input from residents, community groups, and specialists to include design interventions to make them more accessible and dementia friendly.
Further consultation with ageing and dementia specialists, including Dr Martin Quirke from DSDC, University of Stirling, presented spatial and visual perception to make the benches more accessible.
When the Bellfield Centre opened in December 2018, it absorbed several care facilities in the area, one of which was the Alan Lodge Centre.
The benches had been positioned in the grounds of Alan Lodge to facilitate outdoor engagement as a recovery tool
The Alan Lodge Centre has played a significant role in the care and rehabilitation of many people over the years.
The repurposing of the eight park benches from the centre was viewed as an important recognition of the work the centre had done.
The benches had been positioned on the grounds of Alan Lodge to facilitate outdoor engagement as a recovery tool. It became a circuit of benches residents could navigate and measure their ability alongside carers and therapists.
Jason Nelson, Artist and Lecturer at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at the University of Dundee, who led the arts project, was tasked with reimagining the bench installation on the publicly accessible grounds of the Bellfield Centre.
To do this, design interventions on the preexisting benches and simple augmentations to make them accessible and suitable for an open public environment were explored.
Consultation with ageing and dementia specialists, presented spatial and visual perception to make the benches more accessible
The original benches were in varying states of repair and, in the first instance, needed refurbishedment to make them fit for purpose in a public space.
This involved a range of solutions from rot removal, element replacement and in some cases, complete dismantle and rebuild.
Nelson then worked with Bellfield residents and occupational therapists to gain a better understanding of the task of sitting on public seating and what this can entail for users.
Primary issues included:
- Public seating is often too low and can cause issues when users try to get in or out of the seating.
- Park benches are also often too deep and lack enough arm rests to assist with entering and leaving the seat.
- The ground surrounding the bench or access across the terrain to the seating can be problematic. If the user uses a walking aid, then surface and topography have a considerable impact on whether someone can even get to the seat.
In response, all the benches have been raised using metalwork to a more appropriate height. Further metalwork has been used intertwined between the benches to provide handrails for ease of use.
The handrails and benches have also been painted in appropriate colourways to provide a tonal contrast for the ageing eye to allow the benches to be easier seen.
It is hoped that these benches will become an important installation within the grounds of the Bellfield, similar to that of their prequel.
Top image: Some of the redesigned benches at the Bellfield Centre.